2022 Australian Biosecurity Awards – Industry
Dr Kylie Hewson
Dr Kylie Hewson has received a 2022 Australian Biosecurity Award in the Industry category.
Dr Hewson has a long-standing, well-established career working in the fields of animal health management and biosecurity. Dr Hewson’s network of contacts and background in biotechnological and virological training allows her to pull together national and international key stakeholders to identify opportunities and fill knowledge gaps in animal health, biosecurity and antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Her guiding principle is that biosecurity and animal health issues in one sector have implications for all sectors, and that positive change can only be achieved through collective effort.
Dr Hewson was appointed Deputy Executive Director of the Australian Chicken Meat Federation (ACMF) in 2015. In this role, she led industry and cross-sectoral initiatives in the areas of biosecurity, animal health, AMR, food safety and new technologies.
In 2018 Dr Hewson led the first major review of the industry’s biosecurity manual. This comprehensive 3-year process involved assessing the scientific basis for each recommendation and initiating several industry projects to fill knowledge gaps. She also supported the duck and egg industries to improve their biosecurity manuals through this process, and to identify improvements to biosecurity across all major poultry industries.
Dr Hewson supported the development and implementation of the livestock industry’s Biosecurity Benchmark tool with Animal Health Australia. This tool is now used by all livestock industry signatories to the Emergency Animal Disease Response Agreement (EADRA).
Since 2015 Dr Hewson has developed, implemented and coordinated the ACMF’s biosecurity initiatives, with a particular focus on antimicrobial stewardship (AMS). Beyond the Australian chicken meat industry, Dr Hewson received grants from industry and government to support AMR surveillance across other livestock industries, and to develop tools and training materials for producers and veterinarians. She has also initiated and driven numerous AMR and AMS committees, projects, plans and strategies, including the Animal Industries Antimicrobial Stewardship RD&E Strategy, and been a key contributor to many others – including the Australian Government’s National Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy – 2020 and Beyond.
Dr Hewson established a Poultry Industry Biosecurity Committee in response to the avian influenza outbreak in Victoria in 2020. The committee brings together industry representatives to build the skills and knowledge required to implement meaningful biosecurity initiatives within their industry and meet their EADRA obligations.
In March 2021 Dr Hewson became Chair of the Animalplan Steering Committee. The committee was established to guide the implementation of Animalplan 2022 to 2027, a national 5-year action plan for terrestrial animal health that focuses on biosecurity.
Dr Hewson was nominated by Dr Narelle Clegg from the Biosecurity Animal Division, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.